Tottenham Boss Undeterred by Valencia's £25.8m Valuation for Striker

Andre Villas-Boas remains undeterred in his efforts to bring Roberto Soldado to Tottenham Hotspur, despite Valencia's refusal to budge on their £25.8m valuation of the striker.

The 28-year-old has been persistently linked with a move to White Hart Lane this summer with the Spurs boss admitting earlier in the week the club were in discussions over a move that would reportedly cost the Premier League club £18m.

But while revealing there have been talks between the two clubs, Valencia's club president Amadeo Salvo strongly denied reports of a move being close, insisting that Tottenham will have to meet all of the La Liga club's conditions - including his €30m (£25.8m) price tag- before a deal is struck.

But Valencia's firm negotiating stance for their sought after striker has done little to discourage Spurs with Villas-Boas confirming talks are still ongoing.

"There is interest in the player, not matter what has happened in the last couple of days," Villas-Boas said, Sky Sports report.

"We are in conversations, in discussions, but that doesn't mean a deal is going to happen for a player that is a quality player.

"He has done well in Valencia for the last five seasons and had a good education from the Real Madrid school from where he's from. He's a player we are interested in having, but I don't have any further developments to give you."

While Villas-Boas continues his recruitment drive, a key member of his current squad is now in a race against time to be fit for the start of the new Premier League campaign.

Jan Vertonghen suffered an ankle injury during his side's 3-1 defeat to Sunderland in their Barclays Asia Cup clash in Hong Kong on Wednesday, after he awkwardly slipped on the rain-drenched pitch.

After undergoing scans it was revealed that the Belgian international had suffered ligament damage that will rule him out for up to three weeks, giving him a tight deadline to regain fitness ahead of Tottenham's season opener against Crystal Palace on August 18.

"Jan has had damage to his ligaments and he's going to be most likely out of training for two to three weeks," Villas-Boas added.

"So just about on the deadline for the first game of the season. Hopefully we can see a bigger recovery time with him - hopefully we can have him back sooner."